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Denpa, Kuma License Odd Taxi, Wolf Pack Manga
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2023 sponsored by Yen Press and Ize Press!
Publishers Denpa and Kuma announced at a panel at Anime NYC on Friday that Denpa has licensed the Odd Taxi manga, and Kuma has licensed Billy Balibally's Wolf Pack manga.
Denpa will release Odd Taxi starting in the fourth quarter of 2024. The first volume will retail for US$13.95. The manga has a total of five volumes. Kadzuya Konomoto is credited as the original creator along with P.I.C.S., and Takeichi Abaraya drew the manga.
The manga adapts the original television anime series of the same name. The television anime premiered in Japan in April 2021 and aired for 13 episodes. Crunchyroll streamed the anime in the West.
The story follows Odokawa, an eccentric, reticent 41-year-old taxi driver who has no relatives and does not have much to do with others. He does have conversations with his customers, including a college student who wants to go viral, a nurse hiding a secret, an unsuccessful comedian, a street rough, and an up-and-coming idol. These conversations lead him to a girl who has disappeared.
The Odd Taxi: In the Woods film is a "reconstruction" of the television anime episodes, but it also depicts what happens after the television anime's finale. The film opened in Japan in April 2022 and featured a returning cast and staff. Crunchyroll is streaming the film.
Frontier Works released the one-volume Wolf Pack manga in print in Japan in May 2019. The boys-love manga centers on the leaders of two wolf clans who marry out of custom. The English release will retail for US$15.95, and Kuma is aiming to release the manga in late summer or early fall 2024.
Tokyopop previously released Balibally's FANGS manga in English in 2021.
During a Q&A section of the Denpa and Kuma panel, Denpa revealed that the Heavenly Delusion manga sold "atrociously" before the anime premiered. Denpa representatives stated that if the anime had not done well, the company would have had to cancel the release. However, now the manga is on its third reprint.
Source: Denpa/Kuma panel at Anime NYC (Marion Peña)
